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Jamestown

Jamestown, located on Jamestown Island in the Virginia Colony, was founded on May 14, 1607.[1] It is commonly regarded as the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts. It was founded by the Virginia Company, headquartered in London. Located in James City County when it was formed in 1634 as one of the original eight shires of Virginia, Jamestown was the capital of the Colony for 83 years, from 1616 until 1698. At that time, the capital was relocated to Middle Plantation, about 8 miles (13 km) distant. (That small community, which had also become home to the new College of William and Mary in 1693, was renamed Williamsburg in 1699).

Jamestown is one of three locations comprising the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia: Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. Jamestown offers two areas to visit. Historic Jamestowne, on Jamestown Island, is a cooperative effort by Jamestown National Historic Site, a part of Colonial National Historical Park, which is a unit of the National Park Service, and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. The other attraction is known as Jamestown Settlement, and located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) from the historic location of the colony. It is a Living History interpretive site operated by the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Virginia and was established for the 350th anniversary celebrations of Jamestown in 1957.

Nearby, the Jamestown Ferry service provides a link across the navigable portion of the James River for vehicles and offers passengers a view of Jamestown Island from the river, which is perhaps not greatly different from what the first colonists saw 400 years earlier. Traveling 11 miles (18 km) East down the National Park Service's scenic Colonial Parkway visitors can tour Colonial Williamsburg operated by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, site of the second capitol of Virginia. Continuing another...